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A healthy child

Copywrute from Parenting SA

Feeding toddlers

Feeding toddlers and preschoolers can sometimes be a problem for parents. Food and eating is often something toddlers want to be in control of. Toddlers’ appetites naturally decrease during the second year of life. They are not growing as much and they don’t need as much to eat. At the same time they are learning to try different foods, some of which they might not like. Toddlers can be worried by too many changes and like to keep to the few things they know well. It is important for them to show that they are starting to learn to think for themselves by saying ‘No’.

The world is becoming a very exciting place and there are lots more interesting things to do than eat! Getting into battles with toddlers about food and eating can only make life miserable for everyone.

What parents can do

A healthy child will not starve or be undernourished if he has access to a variety of wholesome food. If you are really worried about what your toddler eats, keep a chart for a week and write down everything he eats. You will probably be surprised, but if you are in doubt, check it at your local child health centre.

If your child eats very poorly, a vitamin supplement could be useful. Regular checks for height and weight at your local child health centre will be helpful to monitor his growth and development

How young children learn about food and eating

It is important that toddlers see parents eating and enjoying healthy food—are you a good role model for your child?

It is normal for young children to be wary about eating a food they have not met before and these are ways to help them.

• Offer the food in a happy environment. Children tend to like foods that they associate with fun. (This is why fast food outlets can become so popular.)
• Keep offering the food on several occasions. It can take eight to 15 tries before the food becomes familiar and a child accepts it.
• Children are more likely to try a food when they see the rest of the family or other children enjoy it.
• Don’t insist that the food is eaten and don’t offer a reward for eating it. Both of these measures have been shown to make children dislike that food.
• Children are more likely to want a food if they are told they can’t have it or if it is used as a reward.

Children have the natural ability to know how much food they need and they do not usually overeat. However they can easily lose this skill. If children are pushed to eat more than they want or encouraged to finish everything on the plate, they may learn not to stop when they have had enough. This can lead to weight problems later.

Remember—it is the parent’s job to provide the food. It is the child’s job to decide whether, what and how much to eat.

What to feed toddlers

• Toddlers will eat different amounts on different days. This depends on their day’s activity, if they are tired or unwell.
• Offer a variety of healthy foods each day. The following is a rough guide to the amounts and types to offer, but don’t worry if your child doesn’t actually eat all of these every day.
• • Vegetab